crumbled to dust long ago."

"But he's still Marquess of Lorne," she persisted.

"All right. And what does that make you?"

"Lady Richanda, of course, silly. Can't you remember the wording of the
old charter? And you're Viscount--"

"Wrong there," Val corrected her. "I'm only a lord, by courtesy, unless
we can bash Rupert on the head some dark night and chuck him into the
bayou."

"Lord Valerius." She rolled it upon her tongue. "Marquess, Lady, and
Lord Val, out to seek their fortunes. Pity we can't do it in the
traditional family way."

"But we can't, you know," he protested laughingly. "I believe that
piracy is no longer looked upon with favor by the more solid members of
any community. Though plank-walking is an idea to keep in mind when the
bill collectors start to draw in upon us."

"Here comes Rupert at last. Rupert," she raised her voice as their elder
brother opened the door by the driver's seat, "shall we all go and be
pirates? Val has some lovely gory ideas."

"Not just yet anyway--we still have a roof over our heads," he answered
as he slid in behind the wheel. "We should have taken the right turn a
mile back."

"Bother!" Ricky surveyed as much of her face as she could see in the
postage-stamp mirror of her compact. "I don't think I'm going to like
Louisiana."

"Maybe Louisiana won't care for you either," Val offered slyly. "After
all, we dyed-in-the-wool Yanks coming to live in the deep South--"

"Speak for yourself, Val Ralestone." She applied a puff carefully to the
tip of her upturned nose. "Since we've got this barn of a place on our
hands, we might as well live in it. Too bad you couldn't have persuaded
our artist tenant to sign another lease, Rupert."

"He's gone to spend a year in Italy. The place is in fairly good
condition though. LeFleur said that as long as we don't use the left
wing and close off the state bedrooms, we can manage nicely."

"State bedrooms--" Val drew a deep breath which was meant to be one of
reverence but which turned into a sneeze as the roadster's wheels raised
the dust. "How does it feel to own such magnificence, Rupert?"

"Not so good," he replied honestly. "A house as big as Pirate's Haven is
a burden if you don't have the cash to keep it up properly. Though this
artist chap did make a lot of improvements on his own."

"But think of the Long Hall--" began Ricky, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"And just what do you know about the Long Hall?" demanded Rupert